Ecuador’s state-owned operator Corporacion Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CNT) has started commercial pre-paid 4G LTE mobile data-only packages alongside post-paid tariffs for a Mi-Fi personal LTE hotspot device (where users can connect to five other wireless devices, including smartphones), TeleGeography reports quoting TeleSemana, noting that the services will be initially available in the capital, Quito, and second-largest city Guayaquil, with over 100 live LTE base stations, and a total of 400 live cell sites planned for the near future, plus voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) services scheduled for the end of April.

CNT offers maximum LTE data speeds up to 20-Mbps downstream and 4-Mbps upstream on both post- and pre-paid plans. The former requires signing a 24-month contract and includes the LTE Mi-Fi E5776S device in all five packages, priced from $29 (plus taxes $32.50) for 2-GB monthly data allowance, to $140 (plus taxes $156.80) for a 15-GB monthly volume. Pre-paid LTE data customers will pay $399 (plus taxes $466.80) for the Mi-Fi device with a 1-GB per-month allowance, for 18 months (or 18-GB in total) included in the one-off price. In areas where there is no LTE coverage users are provided with HSPA+ data services.